Wait for Dawn
by dktsubani
Summary: Life in Katekyo isn't all that it's cracked up to be, and it doesn't get any better from here.


**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Katekyo Hitman Reborn, Amano Akira does.**

**General Warnings:** AU, OC-insert and mostly OC-centric, canon character expansion, headcanon galore, violence, language.

**Summary: **There was supposedly something after death, but a life in Katekyo as the sister of one of the characters was not was I was expecting. And then they had to go and drag me into the Mafia. Sigh. At least I got some decent food out of it.

**Author's Notes:** There are better fics than this, such as **My Heavenly Judgement** by _colbub_ and **The Truth of the Sky** by_ LeoInuyuka_. They are what inspired **Wait for Dawn**. They can, and have, heavily influenced this fic. So if you find some likenesses in this, you know where they came from.

Hibari Kyouya will most likely seem a bit OOC in this, but think about it: this time, Kyouya didn't grow up alone. So keep that in mind as we progress through the story, ne?

* * *

**Chapter 1 - A Second Chance**

_"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."_

_- Robert Frost_

* * *

I'm Kyouto. But I'm not. Well, not _just_ Kyouto, anyway.

Let me explain.

Ask my parents, and they'll tell you, "Yes, that's Kyouto. She was born on May 5th, and she and her brother has potential, don't you think?" with a smirk on their faces.

And that's true. I was born Hibari Kyouto, little sister to a twin brother by two minutes, not that he really cares about who's older.

But that's the me that they know.

You see, I have memories as a girl in a different world, in a different life, with a different family and in a different situation. There, I was normal - I had two normal parents, a normal sibling, a normal school, normal friends, and generally a normal life.

And then I died.

Well, more specifically, I died in a train crash, when there was a malfunction on the route that I normally took from school back to my house. I was in the second car to hit the ground, and after the initial shock of _why-is-the-floor-_tilting there'd been a red-hot feeling against what seemed my spine and the next thing I knew, I was in darkness and had a feeling of what seemed like weightlessness.

(Right now, I assume that was "death," but back at the time I was still trying to comprehend what was going on. I was existing in what seemed a literal black hole, and I just couldn't see_ why._)

An indeterminable amount of time passed while I tried to get my thoughts together, and then, even before I fully understood what was happening, I was being slammed into _something,_ and all of a sudden a part of me was screaming bloody murder.

I still don't know what exactly happened. But after some debate - okay, not some but _a lot_ of debate - I'll say that I was reincarnated, even though everything around me seems like a dream or something that my shattered or drugged-out mind cooked up - because what I do _feels _real, so if this isn't, then I've lost nothing.

Why am I so tentatively believing in reincarnation when normally I would be yelling how it's utterly _impossible_? Well, that's because I'm in a world that I _know_ I've seen before. One with characters that I've read about in books and watched on the television. Katekyo Hitman Reborn, to be exact. And I'm sister to one of the characters.

To Hibari Kyouya.

Yeah. Not exactly what I was expecting after I died, but hey, you take what you get. Even if what you get is currently life with a moody, wailing brother with an incredibly short temper.

Sigh.

(I mean, I followed the manga and the anime, yeah, but I didn't go entirely fangirl over it. And unlike some otakus, I didn't fangirl over Hibari, either. It helped that I thought the prefect was slightly... off-kilter.)

I'm not sure if this world is a step up or a step down - I mean, the some of the people I'll grow up with (namely Hibari, Kusakabe, Tsuna, and the others) will eventually join the mafia. The friggin' _mafia_. That was _illegal._ And horrifyingly life-threatening.

(Yes, I'll admit to kind of _like_ adrenaline, but I've already _died_ once, and I did _not_ like the idea of getting myself in illegal businesses and deliberately in the _friggin'. Mafia. No way in hell._

_...Why was I even here in the first place?!_)

In my world - or my_ old_ world now, I guess - I'd always been relatively safe, in a good neighborhood and community. I'd had a good education by social standards and a relatively bright future.

But I was no one special. I had a little brother, a mom and a dad, and friends. I wasn't the president's daughter or a CEO's niece or anything like that. I was plain, ordinary, and no one noticeable. Teachers often actually skipped me during headcounts. Which is actually still a mystery to me in how they did that.

So 'confused' was a mild word in describing what I felt when I found out I was in the Katekyo world. I wasn't distinguished in any way, really. No good grades, no extreme amounts of either good or bad karma, nothing. So maybe some higher being up there messed up, or had a weird sense of humor. Maybe I just wasn't important enough to be noticed when I slipped through the gaps in the cosmos instead of going wherever I was supposed to go.

I like that explanation the best, even though that would mean that this second chance at life was merely an accident, and yes, _that ordinary_. At least it meant that this new life doesn't have any strings attached.

Being born again... It was a terrifying feeling, not being able to see or hear or say anything. That level of loss of control was something I don't want to feel again. Ever.

The next few days, weeks, and months were spent in a warm room with another presence beside me, who occasionally stole the blankets and wailed on and off. I didn't know what to make of it, so I let it take my blankets and tried to ignore the ringing in my ear, not that I could really hear anything - my hearing was horribly undeveloped back then. There had also been blurs of color that came and went, doing things that I don't really remember about, and was the only indication of time passing for me in those days.

Six months later my vision and hearing finally cleared and I started to pick up the language. I'd gotten over my _what-the-hell-is-happening_ phase and had calmed down, because there was literally nothing I could do by myself - I was literally a baby. But with my newly-(re)found hearing, I had something to do, and I could recognize the language, if only hazily. It was foreign, and the language barrier was frustrating, because _I wanted to know where I was_, damnit.

I think I understand why toddlers throw their infamous temper tantrums better now. There was no other way to express frustration in a baby's body, so wailing and crying it was.

A bit more time passed, and I learned new things, like how those blurs of color in the early days had been my parents, and although they did everything they should have done - give food, warmth, a place to rest... they didn't show normal parental love. Affection, yes, but it wasn't really something they should have really given to a child.

At least I now understood why Kyouya was odd, and not in a good way - his parents hadn't really supported him when love as crucial, and he suffered for it. Perhaps I'm biased; they may have simply not known how to show love properly to a child, as Kyouya and I were their first children, and then after the Hibari family's apparently long history of genii they treated him - _and me_, a selfish part of me added - like a mini adult. But being treated like this right after the trauma of _dying,_ being born again without any understanding of _why,_ and then having an entire six months to freak out about it didn't really better my opinion of them. Although most would be glad that at least they weren't being treated like a _child_, in the Hibari family it was more the equivalent of getting a new job without any prior directions what-so-ever and just being expected to perform the best.

...Needless to say, my apathy for them grew. But I still refused to believe that I was in Katekyo, because _damnit_, ordinary people did _not_ just up and be _reborn_ into a _fictitious universe_!

But however insane it was, there was proof, and Kyouya and my first birthday came and went before the evidence mounted to such heights that I had to accept where I was. Anything else familiar to Amano's universe had been diligently ignored, but this just shattered my attempts to convince myself otherwise.

I'd been in the many living rooms, the one where our ancestor's portraits were, having a history lecture with my new brother. My new parents were from a prominent family, so these paintings and the people's histories had been important. They weren't your usual ancestors; no, our parents didn't even try to let it down gently that our family had members on both sides of the law. There had been mafia men, police men, country intelligence department heads, old lords and sometimes even kings, and ninjas had been implied as well, although no records were kept for obvious reasons. It was quite a mess, and the absolute nightmare of anyone trying to trace back our ancestry.

Mother had been pointing out some of the ones in the parlor, telling us about the person's history as if we could understand her - well, I guess she thought we could, because we had shown signs of that possibility; I because I was an older mind in a younger body and Kyouya because although he was technically a baby he was still a _Hibari_, and their standards are _high,_ enough said - and she had pointed out a particular man dressed in red. He looked a bit like what Kyouya would be in fifteen-or-so years, actually, but he was smiling. Without bloodlust; quite a big difference.

"And this is Fon," she had said, her voice light but there was a slight curl in her lip as if she was disgusted with something. "He's your granduncle, from your father's side."

Wait a minute.

...

...

...

..._What?_

I had gazed up at her, eyes wide while Kyouya, next to me, stared at the portrait with an unreadable expression. "What does he do?" I asked. There was a sense of dread in the bottom of my stomach. The name matched up, what little the author had implied of Fon and Hibari's relation matched, and if she answered the way that I thought she would...

Mother had looked at me for a minute, then minutely sighed. She turned her eyes back to the painting. "He worked for the Chinese Triads."

I blinked, not missing the use of past tense. Then it sank in.

Great. I was officially in the Katekyo Hitman Reborn world. And related to the Hibari family. More importantly, related to apparently _Hibari Kyouya_ and _Fon, the Storm Arcobaleno. _Who were either currently or would be neck-deep in the Mafia. Not to mention _huge_ trouble-magnets. Like, _world-and-space-time-endangering_ huge. Also involving possible aliens from outer space, talking babies, _time traveling_, and overall _insanity._

_Oh crap._ I can _see_ the future headaches, damnit.

(oOo)

We started training after our second birthday passed, old enough to talk in blocky and rough, but complete, sentences and to start learning the Japanese language.

(Most people, and me, before this whole being-reborn-thing, would _not_ have expected two-year-olds to be able to _learn a language,_ but the Hibaris were _insane._ Sometimes I wondered how they grew up normally.

...Then I realize what I have now dubbed as Canon!Kyouya - because my newly acknowledged brother would _not_ turn out like him, damnit! - didn't, and was quite prone to what I have also dubbed as battle-hunger. Sigh.)

Kyouya and I picked up the spoken Japanese quite easily, as children are wont to do. I was also thankful that I didn't have an accent, as that would have been difficult to explain.

But the written Japanese was much harder.

I did study Japanese at one time, and although I will not admit to having been any good at it, I could at least tell apart written English and written Japanese. And within written Japanese had been a whole new system of symbols that connected to sounds and therefore words.

Not to mention that Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji were all completely different systems of written and spoken Japanese. The way that these systems were set up and used was also radically different from the English one. I would often spend a good few hours with a page of text, trying to learn this admittedly complicated language.

I have no doubt I came off as an abnormal, if not oddly deliberate, child; but as most members of the Hibari family were genii anyway, my parents didn't particularly seem suspicious of me. Although Kyouya himself had been struggling with written Japanese, especially Kanji - what two-turning-three-year-old child wouldn't? - he had taken to tonfa quite easily, and was already frightening with the single-mindedness he would have for fighting, even at this age.

I, myself, had taken a weapon as well. Not only had our parents pushed us to choose one, if I were to truly keep up with Kyouya later I would have to train also. The fact that it was a good stress-reliever for my language frustration didn't hurt.

(I probably went overboard with those first few targets, but I just _couldn't figure it out,_ and it had _driven me nuts._ I think I can be allowed a little bashing of inanimate objects, no?)

It was awkward, that first year when I had been able to start truly communicating with my brother. He would be aloof, preferring not to get involved in anything, but he had still been a child. And a child needed companionship, no matter what they said. I tried to do things with him, but he simply brushed it off or wandered away. I gave up after a while, and tried to spend time with him instead. He responded better to that, and often he ended up next to me for a quiet nap while I tried my best to read in Japanese.

He was peaceful during those times. And then he curb-stomped me later during spars. I was being beaten by a two-going-three-year-old.

Sigh. Well, this was _Kyouya_, so my dignity was still clinging to life. Barely. Actually, I think it's that little whimpering thing in the corner now...

(oOo)

"What should you do when confronted with a hostage?"

Kyouya thought about it for a moment, then asked Mother a question. "Is it a child hostage?"

"Yes."

This time he didn't even hesitate. "Save the child, then bite the foolish herbivore to death."

Ah, Kyouya, of course you would follow in Mother's footsteps and say that you'll eat your enemies...

And you, Mother, why did you explain the concept of strong and weak people to us with an analogy using carnivores and herbivores? Not that it hadn't been _entertaining_ or anything, but still...

Said Mother turned to me this time. "What should you do when someone attacks your home?"

"Have a little 'talk' with them, then cast them out of town," I replied promptly. The things that growing up from day one with the Hibaris does to you... My life had spiraled into _even more_ insanity not long after we started training - I hadn't even known that life can get _that_ crazy - but I guess that's the price to pay for having such a crazy family. At least they have moral values. ...Kind of.

Mother nodded in satisfaction, a bit of light glinting off her teeth as she gave a predatory smile that sent a shiver down my child's spine. She was _scary _when she did that. "Don't forget that," she said, this time looking at both me and Kyouya. We both straightened; she had that voice when she was about to deliver a life-lesson, and they were admittedly important ones. Kind of. Well, they _were_, just… not conventional. Certainly not something someone would teach children our age.

But seriously. We're dealing with the _Hibari family_ here, and all the rules seem to fly out the window with them...

"There are both herbivores and carnivores in the world, children. Most of the population are herbivores, spineless idiots that do what they're told. They give up whatever they're told to give up when confronted by something stronger. But you two - you two are Hibaris. You are _carnivores_. Therefore you must defend what is yours.

Have no qualms about beating down those you deem weak - they are merely herbivores. However, do not forget that as a Hibari you have honor. Do not tarnish it.

Defending your home is part of that honor. Namimori is your _home,_ children. It is your carnivore's den, the place that other carnivores fear to tread. Remember that. Protect your home. Uphold your honor, and your pride, for a Hibari is nothing without their pride.

Do not forget that."

...I understand why the Kyouya from a story so long ago defended Namimori so much now. He was encouraged by his parents to defend it, but it was also a matter of pride for him. Namimori was, and is, his home. It is a fact that those who fight for their homes and prides are likely to be much, _much_ more aggressive than those who do not, after all.

(I had first-hand experience in that. Kyouya was _scary_ when I took his blanket.

...Hey! That thing was _fluffy_!)

On a more serious note, this lecture had been just one of many, of course. Most of the actual training for fighting had come from Mother and the philosophical lectures from Father, but they both had wisdom for each other's fields that often went hand-in-hand. Strength, a certain sense of honor when applying said strength, even if it was awkward and still quite violent, and loyalty - to friends, family, and other what-nots we considered and would consider important - had all been drilled into our heads as soon as we could understand them. These were all things that our parents, and to some extent the entirety of the Hibari family, followed.

So it was completely unexpected when our parents began to leave home more often and often, until they were gone completely.

(Bastards.)

(oOo)

Them being away from home so much shouldn't have hurt. But sure enough, when they left shortly after Kyouya and I turned four, it stung. Even though they had give us less love than they probably should have, I had grown attached to them.

...Looking back I suppose I should have expected it. In the numerous lessons that they gave in our early days - and who teaches family history to three-year-olds? - they emphasized that the Hibari family was one that did what it wanted, when it wanted. Its members were the same.

Take our mother and father, for example. Mother was an assassin in the mafia while Father was a department head of the intelligence agency for a country. Two opposite sides of the law, and yet they had even gotten married.

Independent, indeed.

(Insanity, 'tis thy name.)

We kept up training and learning after they left, though. I kept sparring with Kyouya to try and hone my skills and we ran outside the town together a few times every day. Some might consider this brutal for a child, but in the Hibari family it was apparently quite normal.

I had long been convinced that said family was insane. But who am I to say, since I'm a part of it now?

Kyouya withdrew into himself even more, preferring to only spar and give his occasional 'hn' instead of holding a proper conversation. Sometimes I felt that I was living with a stranger instead of my brother. It was a disturbing thought.

But thankfully, an incident pulled him out of his misery. Although it'd been handled violently, it at least set him back on track, and after said incident, he started to talk with me more. He'd also returned to that headstrong, reckless, blunt brother that I'd grown to love. Even though he got into more trouble than he was worth, really.

I was glad. And seeing those bullies getting their asses kicked by Kyouya as he returned order to the playground while saying his now-signature "I'll bite you to death" was a definite plus. High point of my day, right there.

I still don't know why he doesn't think _I_ crowd him, though. But I think it might be the fact that I let him have his blanket now...

(oOo)

Our childhood years before Primary passed by in a routine - Kyouya and I would get up in the morning to stretch and perform our respective katas, have a light spar - or something that _he_ considered 'light,' anyway, damn him and his unrealistic endurance - and then head inside for breakfast and a more academic education. We'd have a meal somewhere in between, and finally have a more serious training session in the backyard before bed.

I don't know how I managed to survive that, honestly, when I was often too sore to move when we ended, and teaching and learning mutually with Kyouya who was supposed to be _the_ best fighter in Namimori by the time he was in middle school was... quite an experience.

I am proud to say that I can defend myself properly now, though. And I'd like to think that now I can outrun him if I ever need to, thank you very much. Even though he still beats me in almost every... single... spar...

Argh. He was _scary_ with his tonfa, and he wasn't afraid to flaunt the fact that he was better than me at fighting. Not out loud, of course; he wasn't _that_ ignorant of manners. He'd just have that condescending attitude that was significantly less with me than with others, but still there. I just tried to ignore it.

Even though we literally lived by ourselves, we managed to live without worry of what we'd eat the next day, or what we'd wear, or other monetary-related concerns as our wayward parents had left behind enough funds to properly support both of us until we died. And that wasn't counting the mutual family funds, which any Hibari in desperate need - and it truly had to be desperate for a _Hibari_ to accept any help, even if it was from their own_ family_ - could use without question.

The Hibari family was definitely wealthy, if visitors couldn't tell by our parent's, or ours, now that we kept it, enormous house.

Probably the only reason we got away with living alone, wealthy or not, was that we lived near the Namimori Shrine where most people didn't come out to anyway, not to mention all our near-by neighbors were good friends, or what the Hibari family considered 'friends.'

I smirked at the thought of the fiasco that would occur if the townspeople found out Kyouya and I were living by ourselves. They'd try to sue our parents for child abandonment, and ship us off to a foster home. Heh. Herbivores, the lot of them.

...Did I just say herbivores?

...Sigh. I guess it was inevitable. At least I managed to put it off for a couple of years.

(oOo)

Time passed, as it's wont to do. Kyouya was starting to gain a name on the streets, or playground, at least, with his iron fist for discipline even at the tender young age of six. And of course, as his sister, I was there too. Well, some of the time, as Kyouya had finally started to have his penchant for solitude. It was still quite fun, though.

Hm. A few years, or even a hazy life ago I would have said ruling with terror over fellow children was tyranny. But it killed time well. Not to mention that said children really _did_ need disciplining.

(...This. The Hibari insanity is _infectious,_ I tell you!)

Anyway, it wasn't long before we started primary school, and the takeover was... ridiculously easy.

I shouldn't have been surprised. Kyouya and I, him with his tonfa and me with my hanbō, _do_ make a frightening sight, after all. In a matter of hours we had wrested control of the school from the _very_ incompetent principal and had it under our thumbs.

Well, Kyouya did at least. I just wanted a quiet life before all the craziness that was sure to come with canon timeline. I shouldn't have expected one, though. Not with Kyouya as my brother. Who was still as reckless and did what he wanted without consulting anyone. At all.

Sigh.

People started pushing us away, if they hadn't already - classmates would start sitting farther away from us, and the unlucky ones that drew the short straw rarely talked to us. They'd have stiff backs and pretend not to see us, only speaking with us when absolutely necessary. The teachers, used to dealing with placid children, often flinched when either Kyouya or I addressed them.

My brother, I understood. He was scary enough. Me? I'm not sure why... I'm not exactly the image of terror...

(A snide voice in the back of my head reminded me about the tone of voice I'd used with one of the more... ahem... _ignorant_ teachers and said that it was the Hibari insanity finally bleeding through. I kindly told it shut up.)

Kyouya dealt with it well for a now-seven-year-old - not that I expected anything different - and although it would have been nice to have some friends in class I was prepared for rejection. I'd been largely ignored in my other life, and in this one being one-half the disciplinary force in the town wasn't exactly the fool-proof way to gather friends.

We got a little closer though, after that, Kyouya and I. He was just a bit more open with me, a little more tolerant when I fell asleep next to him in the backyard. He still liked to be alone, but I did too; we just got a little more comfortable in each other's presences after seven years of living with each other, and then being mutually rejected by the fickle crowd. He didn't give me any special treatment, but he tolerated me enough to have tea together.

It was... nice.

(oOo)

A year after we had essentially taken over the school district, Kyouya started patrolling on the shadier streets, often just wandering instead of using an exact route. If it had been anyone else, they would have been threatened for money by now by the local gangs and yakuza.

Kyouya? They just tried to stay out of his way.

They couldn't always do that, of course, and those that did couldn't get away fast enough. Often my brother left trails of prone bodies in his wake.

Kyouya also started on his love for rules. Yes, he'd had a penchant for them even before Primary, but now he was aiming to restore order to not only the school, but the entire town. It was a lovely sight to watch, even with all the complaints that we'd get.

At least the police kept off our backs, though, as long as we kept it to bruises and broken bones; they knew what Hibaris did, and left us alone for the most part.

The more idiotic yakuza and gang members, though, were another story.

(oOo)

Kyouya was... displeased. No, let him rephrase that. He was _furious._ He'd _bite those herbivores to death._

He stalked out the door and ignored Kyouto who followed after him, hands in her pockets and frame relaxed in a position the complete opposite of what she was feeling. He knew that because of the dangerous glint in her eyes, the one that practically shouted _predator_. But she didn't seem upset in the very least as she came up to his side and nudged him with a shoulder, giving him a warning look as she tilted her head at the town residents looking at him warily. Kyouya released the hold on the tonfa he'd unknowingly gripped under his jacket, muttering under his breath, and she just smiled as the herbivores sighed in relief and continued about their herbivorous business.

The Kurotaka yakuza had been taken over by a new leader recently, and apparently the new oyabun was particularly ambitious and ridiculous and _stupid_ as men with the Kurotaka emblem had started causing damage to the north of Namimori, not to mention was harassing the civilians. That was _definitely_ against the rules. Although most of the yakuza around the town knew not to do such _foolish_ things by now, these ones apparently needed to be disciplined.

The worst thing that the Kurotaka had done, though, was attack the grandmother owner of a well-known tea shop. Even he and Kyouto had been there before. They knew the grandmother, and yakuza attacking her, or _any_ elder, was... unacceptable.

Kyouya hated repeating himself, but he'd bite those herbivores to death. He didn't know why Kyouto was coming with him, but he didn't care at the moment; he had weak herbivores to take care of. Painfully.

(oOo)

Kyouya blinked. Blinked again. Then he took a hand that was _not_ covered with... _stickiness_ and rubbed his eyes. Kyouto seemed satisfied, because she stopped the incessant waving of her hand in his face and instead turned to the herbivore behind her.

While his sister had a _talk_ with the yakuza, Kyouya looked around. What he saw shocked him, just a bit, even though he'd never admit it.

There was a trail of bodies from where he'd burst into the Kurotaka branch headquarters, littered on the floor in various states of wounded. Some seemed to be having trouble breathing while others had arms and legs sticking out at odd angles. That was normal. The sheer amount of red fluid staining their clothes, however, was _not_.

Kyouya almost dropped his tonfa, but he managed to calm down just enough to at least clean the... _blood_ off on a convenient rug before tucking them away.

Then he walked - no, he didn't _stagger_, damn it - over to a wall with the least amount of herbivores' bodies and leaned against it.

By this time Kyouto had finished, and was carefully picking a way over the bodies. He ignored her in favor of maintaining an even breathing. He would _not_ show weakness. Weakness was for herbivores.

...But this...

Kyouya had lost control in that fight, because there were _so many people_ and more specifically, _trained yakuza_, which meant he didn't need to hold back that much as he did over the usual herbivores. He _knew_ that he had an unstable lack of restraint, even at his seemingly young age, but it seemed that what little control he had managed to gain over his thirst for a good fight had broken when they'd confronted the Kurotaka. He'd been careful not to fight too hard when it wasn't Kyouto he was fighting against because he _knew_ that she could protect herself when he got too out of hand but he'd gotten too immersed in the fight and apparently almost killed some of the men. Although that usually didn't make him pause, the fact that he'd had to rely on Kyouto to stop him when he went on a blood-rage _did_.

The last time he had done that she had gotten _nasty_ bruises that stayed for _three whole weeks_ and that he'd felt unexpectedly _guilty_ for afterwards.

That confused him. What was it about Kyouto that made him feel guilty over causing her bruises? They both got bruises from their every day sparring. Yes, she was his sister, but family ties didn't matter that much in the Hibari family. As far as he knew, he and Kyouto were the only two Hibaris to have stayed together this long. Then what was it?

...Perhaps it was because it was _his fault_ that he'd lost control when he should have been able to keep it. Even against Kyouto who had been training with him their whole life, he _knew_ that he was better than her. He was better than _anyone_ in Namimori at fighting, no matter what the herbivores said about his age. He was supposed to be the _best_. He wasn't supposed to make a mistake, no matter how small it was. He was supposed _restrain_ himself, he was supposed to _discipline_ herbivores, not _kill_ them.

(Because unknown to him, it had become a pride thing, being able to assert dominance over herbivores without killing them. Being able to uphold the rules and the laws. A pride thing that he upheld... Except for this time.)

So the bruises that day, and the new ones that he'd caught a glimpse of on her forearms before she'd covered them up with her jacket that he _knew_ weren't there before, meant that he had _failed._

(oOo)

Kyouya was unexpectedly quiet after the Kurotaka incident, and a whole two weeks went by before I managed to get an answer out of him.

He was guilty over losing his _temper._

This... was something I hadn't prepared for. I'd been preparing for fights, and grudges, and all-out death matches in the form of the more idiotic yakuza and then the Mafia, but I hadn't been preparing for guilt. And I certainly didn't know how to take care of bruised_ pride_.

Kyouya was prideful, very much so, even at our age. That could be a problem in the future, but for now, I needed to fix it.

(Damn that Hibari pride.

...Well, I really shouldn't be talking. Pot, meet kettle, much?)

I finally brought it up one afternoon.

"It's not your fault," I started conversationally as I dodged a tonfa aimed at my head.

To anyone else, Kyouya wouldn't have known what I was talking about, but after nine years of living with my brother I noticed the tell-tale tightening of his fingers on his tonfa. He didn't say anything as I swished my hanbō in a feint towards his side, then snapped it around to hit his wrist.

"Everyone loses their temper sometimes, Kyouya," I continued, pulling my short staff back when my brother made a move to flip it up out of my hands. That move was _old;_ it didn't work on me anymore, and he knew it. He was more distracted by this than I thought.

Holding my hanbō with my right hand while using my left forearm to guard, I smiled with what I hoped Kyouya'd take as humor at him. "You know _I_ lose my temper every other week." He was seemingly not paying attention to what I was saying, but I knew that thoughtful look in his eyes. I left him to his thoughts as we continued the spar; too much talking and I'd just end up flat on my back. Again.

This time I managed to win, tapping the side of my brother's head with the end of my hanbō before he did the same with one of his tonfa. He made a face in annoyance before straightening. I did as well before we bowed to each other and officially ended the spar. Then we made our way to the back door, heading back inside for the towels and water bottles I'd set out earlier.

Our respective showers later, Kyouya didn't say a word as we settled down for a cup of tea, but his hand was clenching the cup tightly. I was suddenly glad that I'd used the everyday set this time and not one of the heirloom china because it looked like he was going to break it if he wasn't careful. Maybe even if he _was_.

My brother spoke up after a few long minutes of sipping tea in silence.

"...It is."

I raised an eyebrow at him. I knew what he was talking about, and I wasn't amused. "It isn't, and you know it."

That started a whole tirade - well, for him, anyway. The guy rarely talked a lot. "It _is_. _I_ was the one that lost my temper. _I_ was the one who insisted on storming the herbivores' den."

There was a bitter twist to the edge of his mouth. "_I_ was the one who lost myself in the fight and didn't stop myself in time and you had to -"

I'd stopped drinking my tea by now, my cup on the low table as we stared across it at each other. He'd seen the bruises, then. I'd done my best these last weeks to hide it, but I should've known I wouldn't be able to hide them from Kyouya. He had hawks' eyes for weaknesses or injuries.

I sighed and downed the last of my tea, absently clicking my tongue at the problem. I couldn't believe I was having this conversation with a _nine-year-old_.

...Well, this was a nine-year-old _Kyouya_, so that pretty much explained everything.

"Look," I said, meeting his eyes - they were full of guilt, and anger at... _something_. I didn't know what, but bringing it up now would probably do more harm than good, so I continued. "You were angry, and you wanted to take it out on something. That's understandable. But you _don't have to be perfect all the time,_ Kyouya. No one can ever do that. It's just not possible."

"But I _failed_," Kyouya replied, but it was noticeably - slightly, but still noticeably, especially after living with him all his life - weaker. He didn't always follow the world's logic, but sometimes he needed another point of view to remind him that he was human, as much as he hated that it meant he was fallible. It was a matter of pride for him, but he needed to learn that he couldn't restrain his natural fight-hungry nature all the time.

(Fight-hunger. That and pride were the two deadliest things to the members of the Hibari family. Because Kami knew that a Hibari would only be brought down by one of our own, or by themselves.)

"It's not possible," I repeated myself, trying to fill my voice with as much conviction as possible. He was a person, a living, breathing _person._ He had feeling, and _damnit_, he was my _brother,_ and _why hadn't I talked with him earlier? _"We may be Hibaris, Kyouya, but you can lose your temper sometimes, you can get out of control sometimes, _because you're human._"

I tried to convince myself he believed me as he sighed and got up, collecting both my teacup and his and then dumping them both in the sink before heading outside. Why was I delivering a moral speech anyway? I was _not_ good at those things.

But... if it helped Kyouya...

(Because as much as I knew _I didn't belong here,_ a brother grows on you. Both figuratively and literally. Kyouya's taller than me right now.

But that bond... It reminded me of the one I had with Alex. I... missed that.)

A few hours later, he returned with his clothes a bit dusty, but he was in a much better mood. Some would say he'd probably just been going over that logic in his head, but I knew better to think it was just that. I had a good idea of what else he'd been up to, so I just tossed him a cleaning rag that he caught without much difficulty.

We cleaned our respective bamboo weapons in a silence that wasn't strained for the first time in two weeks.

(oOo)

After the whole Kurotaka fiasco, the local yukuza started backing down and giving back power to us as the peace-keepers, cowed by the show of power. Namimori was traditionally Hibari land anyway, so it was just us taking back what was ours.

Kurotaka proved to be more stubborn, though, and Kyouya and I made a game out of who could knock out the most of their people first. My brother was still more visibly wound up when he faced off against the Kurotaka compared to the Yamaguchi-gumi or the Momokyokai, where most of them were generally more submissive, even as he tried to reign in his bloodlust.

Kyouya never did get his nickname of 'Skylark'; I suspected it was because there were two of us now. We were both simply known as 'Hibari-san,' because Kyouya refused to let _anyone_ call either of us by first name, and Kami protect the idiot that used an endearing suffix, too.

...Now that I think about it, even the Primary teachers didn't call us by first names. It was always 'Hibari-san,' and both my brother and I would turn around to look at the speaker, or in Kyouya's case, glare. I heard it being described as unnerving once.

"Hn," had been all he'd said when I mentioned it to him, and I remembered being impressed by his ability to express such emotion into one word.

(No, really. There was that I'm-listening "hn," the I-look-down-on-you "hn," the I'm-irritated-beyond-words "hn," and the I'm-going-to-make-you-shut-up-now "hn." All delivered with that same deadly practically Kyouya-patented glare.)

Ah, fun times, fun times. Time sure flies when you're having fun. Well, the yakuza certainly do. And we're having fun in the meantime, so does that count?

(...I've lost my sanity, haven't I? Damnit.)

(oOo)

I was walking along the streets one day, nodding politely to the shopkeepers as they waved. Surprisingly the older generation of the town liked Kyouya and I; I suspected it was because we kept the number of thugs down, even at the age of nine. Or ten, soon, because our birthday was coming up next week.

Birthdays were considered special in the Hibari household - our wayward parents even called home on birthdays. But they never gave presents. It was the same with the major holidays that other households usually celebrated - Christmas, New Year's, and even Children's Day, when Kyouya and my birthdays ironically fell on.

This year, though, I wanted to break that pattern. If our parents wouldn't get us presents, then I would get Kyouya one myself. We certainly had enough money to spare, and he was _my damn brother._

(It was weird. The first time I'd seen Kyouya, he'd been a character, a figment of someone's imagination. And after my rebirth, _bam!_ Now he was suddenly a person, who was still growing in the ways of the world and very susceptible to influences. But he was _himself_ was this never-ending onion that was beginning to show its rings even at our young - or in my case, not-so-young - age. Sure, he only displayed his possessiveness and thirst for a good spar or two now, but the point remained that he had become a_ person_. A person I cared for.

...I wondered when the other "characters" would become "people," too.)

It was in my thinking that I walked by one of the few martial arts schools in Namimori, and I ended up looking at the display of weapons.

An idea hit me, and I slowly started smirking, feeling myself channeling my inner sadist. I was told that it was scary when I did that, or whenever I lost my temper. I guess it _would_ be scary to have a girl grinning madly like a Cheshire cat at you. But I couldn't help it; I'd just found the _perfect_ birthday present - _perfect_ and _amazing_ and just all-around _awesome._

Oh, and with this move, I'd fill a hole. Two birds, meet one stone.

(oOo)

Birthdays were considered special. He knew that. However, in their little home, presents on birthdays were unheard of. So Kyouya was understandably confused when Kyouto pulled out a present after their customary tea before bed.

"Happy birthday to us," she had said. Then she had drifted off to her room, leaving Kyouya with the box on the table. It was wrapped in black gift wrap - even though it was plain, it was the expensive kind, he noted - and a bit longer than his forearm.

He had had half a mind to call her back and not only tell her presents were for herbivores but also ask her why she was giving him a present when _it was her birthday as well_ but he squashed it. He left it there, glaring at it. Then he carefully took it in both hands and opened it, because although she was his sister and he was a carnivore too she was a _scary_ carnivore when she was angry. Like a Hibari should be.

What was in the box had surprised him. Kyouya had stared at the objects for a while, then 'hn'ed and put them back. Then he washed up and stared at her door, debating on whether or not daring to disturb her before slipping into his own room and sliding into bed. And proceeded to stare at the ceiling until he fell asleep.

The next day he'd asked her before their afternoon spar why she'd gotten him the present.

She had merely smiled and Kyouya had been annoyed, but he couldn't deny he was interested in the answer.

"You've been using old weapons for so long that I wanted to get you new ones," Kyouto said, nodding at the gift, now completely unwrapped from its box and ready-to-go.

"...Hn," had been all Kyouya had said before he brought his new weapons up. "Let's go," he had demanded.

During the resulting spar, he had seen why Kyouto had gotten him metal tonfa to replace the bamboo ones he'd been using - these had spikes and chains whipping out of the ends if he tilted and whipped them around _just_ _right_. He couldn't stop the grin on his face from forming, even though he'd have to practice to get used to the new weight. He didn't need anyone's generosity, but because this was from Kyouto, he would let it pass.

Not to mention he quite liked these new weapons, thank you very much. And he couldn't let his sister's gift go to waste, now could he?

...Where _did_ she get these tonfa, anyway?

...Probably the same place she got her new metal hanbō. That thing looked painful to get hit by.

(oOo)

**[Two years later / Twelve years old]**

There'd been a group, a small gang, actually, causing disorder in the south side of Namimori, and Kyouya had been angry, to say the least. They were wrecking walls, harassing civilians and generally causing chaos and crowding near the police station. Foolish herbivores. Didn't they know not to cause damage to Namimori by now?

(He ignored Kyouto who had muttered that they were young hotheads that thought they could get past them and didn't know just how much of a price they'd pay; rulebreakers were rulebreakers. It was as simple as that.)

Their need for discipline was clear, and he dragged Kyouto with him to do it, because no matter how reluctantly she went Kyouya knew that his sister _enjoyed_ her peace and quiet and was unexpectedly sadistic to those disturbing it.

Which worked for him, because even though it meant another carnivore was sharing his prey, they could discipline the perpetrators faster. And accordingly, his nap.

He and Kyouto had appeared just as the foolish herbivores started desecrating the town, and Kyouya let himself grin as he gripped his tonfa from where he'd hidden them under his gakuran top.

"You are disturbing the peace," he said, and the foolish herbivores turned around with a fearful look on his faces. Namimori was his _home,_ and they were _disrespecting it._ That was _definitely _against the rules. And because they broke the rules...

Kyouya readied his tonfa as the gang members started backing away.

"I'll bite you to death."

(oOo)

Yawning - it was early morning, after all - I helped Kyouya drag the pitiful gang members over to the police station, where shaking officers took them off our hands.

I wasn't sure why; they were only fifteen- or sixteen-year-olds, after all... It wasn't _that_ surprising... right?

(...Okay, maybe it was. I plead Kyouya-induced insanity.)

I yawned, moving a hand to cover my mouth as Kyouya and I stepped out of the building and back onto the streets. Kyouya had accidentally slept on me last night. He usually only did that when we were napping in the backyard, but I guess he'd been tired enough to do so. Taking out nearly twenty students because they were "crowding" near the entrance did do that to someone, after all, and the only reason Kyouya had been tired after that had been because he hadn't gotten a good night's rest the day before.

Most people didn't get why Kyouya didn't like crowding, but after living roughly a decade with him, I theorized that he just didn't like other people, or was good with them; I was the same, after all. Even at our age, the girls were annoying with their chatter on the newest this-or-that in dolls or fashion or whatever they talked about, and the boys were irritating, what with their chatter on _sports_. Kyouya tended to stay away from them - I think it had something to do with their noise level.

I still don't know why he likes fighting so much, though.

Speaking of fighting, it looks like he's about to start one. At least it's with a gang member. And is that -

- oh yes it is. Kyouya, you can have him, I'm going to just watch gleefully as you hit that jerk in the gut with a tonfa.

...Or I could join. It's tempting.

"I need stress relief anyway," I muttered under my breath as I slid out my hanbō.

(oOo)

Kusakabe Tetsuya's day could have been going better. Scratch that, his _week_ could have been going better. First his mom had had a fever, which she had gotten while being outside in the cold last night waiting for her husband - he refused to call the man "father." He'd had to stay at home to keep her comfortable, and miss school to do so. Then the next day there was a pop quiz, the contents of which had been gone over the day before. The day that he'd missed school.

"Ahh, Kusakabe. There you are. Do you have our money?"

And _there_ was the final reason why Tetsuya's day currently sucked. Well, sucked even _more._ Nakae Hirohisa was the local gang of the town, the one that had ruled the back streets and alleyways and charged the students who needed to use them to get to school on time. Of course, what he did couldn't be done in front of the townspeople, so he and his lackeys had stuck to ganging up on younger kids behind buildings and in the dark.

At least, he _had,_ until the Hibari twins came and "disciplined" the town, as they called it. Personally, Tetsuya was grateful to the duo, no matter how violent, scary, or virtual tyrants they were. They had stopped most of the gang's activity, but of course there were those unlucky few that were still targeted because the fifteen-year-old leader wouldn't back down without at least a seeming of a fight. Like now.

"Kusakabe-kun," Nakae almost-purred in that voice that all younger-level students who had to take the back streets had come to fear before they had started taking the front. "Don't tell me you forgot." Behind him, Nakae's minions started sneering and some even started cracking knuckles.

The thirteen-year-old gulped and tried to back away, only to find his back against the dead end. Crap. And he'd almost reached the school, too.

"I-I didn't," Tetsuya managed to stutter out while scrambling for time. "I-I'll give it t-to you a-after school. Promise!"

The former school boss seemed to consider that for a moment, in a deceptive way that was designed to put his victims at rest before he ambushed them. Accordingly, after Tetsuya unwittingly dropped his guard Nakae then smirked, shaking his head in a patronizing manner. "I know you will, Kusakabe-kun," he said, "but you said the same thing last time, remember? And you didn't. You broke a promise."

The smirk widened, revealing white teeth in that predatory smile that all experienced bullies had. "And we don't take kindly to broken promises, right, guys?" Nakae tossed the question behind him, and his gang all made various sounds of agreement.

Nakae turned around and opened his mouth to say something when a voice cut through the group. "Herbivores. Why are you crowding here?"

Tetsuya released a sigh of relief as the self-proclaimed 'discipliners' of Namimori appeared into view. The boy, Hibari Kyouya, was sporting an annoyed look on his face as he glared at the gang of bullies. His sister, Hibari Kyouto, looked like she wanted to be anywhere from here. They both wore the school uniform, but also had gakuran tops - Kyouya's was slung over his shoulders while Kyouto was wearing hers properly. All in all, they didn't look like the fighters that they were rumoured to be, but Tetsuya would take what he could get.

Nakae smiled at Kyouya. "Nothing, Hibari-san. We're just having a little _chat_ with Kusakabe-kun here."

The girl next to her brother sniffed, then raised an eyebrow at the lead bully with a grace that no twelve-year-old should rightfully have. "A "chat"? I'm sure it's a pleasant one," she said, and Tetsuya could practically _hear_ the sarcasm dripping off her words.

A few of the boys behind Nakae bristled, but their leader quickly hushed them down, flashing a deceptively charming smile at the Hibaris in front of him. "Yes, yes, pleasant indeed," he said, and generally had the manner of someone who didn't want to incur said Hibaris' wrath again. That was understandable, as the last time the twins had '"disciplined' his gang, they had ended up with some _nasty_ bruises, and in some of the worse cases, broken bones - Tetsuya had seen them himself before one of the lackeys covered it, and had heard the rumors of some of Nakae's gang admitted at the hospital.

"I really hate crowding," the male Hibari suddenly said - apparently he made up his mind as he readied his tonfa in a fighting-stance, eyes narrowed at the group in front of them. "It really makes me want to bite you to death." He wheeled around, steel tonfa flashing as he dealt out punishment to the unruly. Tetsuya could only gape at the sight of a twelve-year-old beating up four others, all older than him by a good three or four years.

There was a sigh next to him, and Tetsuya jumped and turned around to see Kyouto taking out a hanbō made out of what looked like to be similar material of her brother's tonfa out from _nowhere. _"I need stress relief anyway," she muttered almost too quietly for him to hear, and then jumped into the fight as well.

Tetsuya's jaw was hanging open by this point. Now that he had a proper look at the Hibari twins' fighting prowess, he could see why all of the school respected and feared them. They were a _scary _sight to see, silver metal flaring in the sunlight as they whirled with the grace that only long practice brought. Even as untrained as he was, Tetsuya could tell.

(oOo)

I sighed, absently tucking my hanbō back into the sleeves of my gakuran top - we'd started wearing them a year ago by Kyouya's insistence, or rather,_ threatening_, Kyouya-style - and although it looked rather cool slinging the jacket over the shoulders it was Kyouya's signature fashion, not mine. I was mad at myself at the way that I did that last whirl of the hanbō - it was _sloppy_, damn it, and were it my brother he would have taken the opening and leave a bruise on my side. I'd have to practice it later.

(A voice in the back of my head accused "damn perfectionist" but I quashed it with long-practiced ease.)

"Th-thank you," a voice stuttered from the left, and I turned my head toward where it came from. It was Kusakabe Tetsuya, and I mentally raised an eyebrow. So this was how they met, huh?

Hole filled. Moving on.

Kyouya snorted that delicate, arrogant snort of his, and Tetsuya flinched a bit. I leaned back slightly - I had a good idea of what would happen, and I wouldn't interfere. Not with this; it wasn't worth the soreness later.

My brother twirled his tonfa - he hadn't put his weapons away like I had - and then slammed one into the thirteen-year-old's gut. The boy crumpled to the ground, not expecting the sudden attack, and Kyouya turned his back on him.

"Herbivore," he sniffed, and walked past me. I hid a smile and followed after him, both of us leaving the bullies and the victim behind us. Kyouya didn't discriminate; if one did something wrong, one got a face full of tonfa. It was a simple case of rule of law, and probably the only reason the teachers didn't try to discipline _him_. Not that they could, anyhow.

Tetsuya, who was now moaning a bit, would be able to get up - Kyouya hadn't slammed it _that_ hard - and the gang scum were unconscious. Which was good. I was still laughing gleefully over their punishment via Kyouya.

Life... was good. Even with the crazy fighting and insanity that had seemingly become my life these days, it was good.

I smiled and looked towards the clear, blue sky as we headed home.

_(I'll live this life with no regrets. Not this time.)_

* * *

**Please leave a review.**

* * *

**Kyouto - mirror. A very rarely used name, but one that I think the very traditional headcanon!Hibari family would use.**

**hanbō - a half-staff. Traditionally 35 inches long, and can even beat a katana if used properly.**

* * *

**Yes, Kyouto's slightly off her rocker. But who wouldn't be, after dying in a train crash, floating in what virtually amounts to a black hole with only their thoughts, then the horrors of growing up again, but this time with my battle-hungry and insane headcanon!Hibari family?**

**If you think that Kyouya's being a bit OOC, again, there's a reason for that. Kyouto'll have a big "ah-hah!" moment later, so stick with me, here. I, personally, like this Kyouya - he's not so rough around the edges.**

**That two year timeskip? That and any future timeskips will be filled in later as flashbacks or in a sidestory.**


End file.
